Fire Emblem Awakening: Alternate Judgement
by EverchangingArcadia
Summary: After the fateful encounter at Plegia, Lucina deemed it necessary to take care of Robin before this timeline followed its course towards hers. In order to protect Chrom, she must pass judgement on him. However, before it would come, a certain man had some words to say.


Disclaimer: I hold no rights to Fire Emblem and any copyrighted material. I personally regard this story as my own work, however any similar events that transpire are more than likely coincidental if they are not overtly incidental.

* * *

「Alternate Judgement」

To say the situation was tense was a severe understatement. Everyone knew exactly what happened, so to bring up a conversation about it now would be pointless.

The royal entourage took it as expected. Not only did they lose their prized heirloom, they witnessed the breach of trust from their closest friend. Chrom was still feeling the effects of Robin's sudden loss of self, and refused to believe that he would do what he did willingly. Lissa thought the same. After everything they went through, she would not doubt his loyalties. Frederick was too stunned at first, but then, while the Shepherds were on reprieve, reaffirmed his trust in their tactician. Though, he would keep his blade ready were it needed.

The rest of the group was a colourful mix of different opinions. However, the fact that they all continued to trust him stayed unchanged.

All except one.

Lucina was busy gathering her thoughts. Pacing back and forth within her tent, she contemplated the events that just took place and her mind was on overdrive trying to process exactly what happened. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, steadying her nerves to try and think more clearly.

Robin was integral to the Ylisse's prosperity during both the war with Gangel and Walhart, and at that time he showed no potential motive to betray the Shepherds. He would likely stay that way if this continued to be the case. However, recent events showed otherwise. The thoughts of her father entered her mind now and again, trying to come up with what he would think of the matter. Most likely, he would stay trusting to a fault, and would not hold any hard feelings for his friend's actions. It was no surprise the way he interacted with Robin was not that of professionalism. The two were practically family. Chrom even stated at one point that they became brothers right when he was found on that open field.

Lucina sighed, she had placed her trust in the tactician up until now, but her doubts were still understandable. The future was following its course, and she would not allow it to continue towards the apocalypse she escaped. Once more, her hand landed on her sacred blade, and she began her search for the man in question.

It was a somber walk, one filled with a mix of silence and murmurs from the rest of the Shepherds. Of the ones she heard, she inferred from the lack of anger that they held no ill will for their friend. A long breath escapes her mouth as her own doubts continue to fester. She had just left the camp, and before she can continue her search, a voice called out, piercing through the relative silence.

"Princess."

Lucina turned her head to see before her what she would refer to as, an anomaly.

"Weide. I...apologise. I was lost in my thoughts. Do you need of me?"

The man in question looked at her directly in the eye, causing a small amount of discomfort to arise. His green eyes felt like they saw through her completely.

"Not necessarily. I would ask the same of you. Gripping Falchion while making your way through camp would surely cause a few eyebrows to raise." Weide said.

Unconsciously, Lucina gripped her blade tighter, earning a small huff from the him.

"...That is none of your concern." she replied.

"Is it? Now that would normally be the case, if it wasn't for the fact that the situation here says otherwise." he stated matter-of-factly.

The man's clothing consisted of a rather peculiar mismatch of cyan, white, and red. He wore no armour, save for a scale vest underneath his coat. His pants were nothing to write home about, though, there was a shoddy job at patchwork that appeared at several different locations. At his hip was a sword that was very well worn but still usable. Boots adorned his feet and they were of a similar state. Bright green hair was the most striking part of his figure, therefore he always wore a hat of some kind.

His personality was rather mixed at times, but there was a consistency to it. Reserved would be one way to describe Weide.

Unknown, would be another.

Weide mostly kept to himself when he joined the Shepherds, only talking to Tiki whenever she was awake and the other two manaketes. He was found protecting Robin's daughter, Morgan, in the Ruins of Time, fending off Risen while 'awaiting' their arrival. He had stated that he was there to 'reminisce about a time long passed' and happened to pass by the young girl being attacked by the reanimated corpses, but his lack of surprise when he was found was certainly suspicious. It didn't help that Lucina was unaware that a Weide even existed. In all her interactions with Tiki in her future, the Voice made no mention of his existence. Now, she held him so close whenever he was near it was as if she feared him disappearing at some point, never to return.

Most of the Shepherds placed their trust in him, especially given the fact that he was also a manakete, though, he made it known that he didn't really care much for it. The others of the same species would say otherwise, stating the fact that he was an _adult_ manakete and therefore his origins were much more important than he made it out to be. Especially Tiki, who apparently knew him since the Hero King's era. That fact alone caused many to 'intrude on his personal space' as he lightly would put it.

Remembering his earlier words, Lucina snapped out of her thoughts.

"What are you-"

"You're looking for Robin." he stated, cutting her off.

Lucina glared at him and he simply shrugged.

"It's not hard to guess, princess. Given your fixation on your father's well-being and the fact that a little birdie told me what happened to him in your future, put the clues together and…"

Weide trailed off and walked towards a nearby tree, Lucina followed his movement with her watchful eyes. He leaned on said tree and then crossed his arms, taking one long look at the orange sky.

"...you plan to confront Robin. Well, 'confront' may be putting it lightly." he finally said.

Lucina tightened her grip on Falchion further at his words. They weren't… wrong per se, but this was necessary to prevent the Fell Dragon's return.

"I am doing what I must." she stated firmly.

Weide looked at her with a frown, his previous demeanor vanished.

"Doing what you must, or what you _believe_ you must." he retorted.

"What do you-"

"Don't lie to me, Princess. You know _exactly_ what I mean." he said cutting her off, again.

Lucina looked away, unable to continue looking at scrutinising eyes. As she contemplated her thoughts, Weide studied her current form. He noticed the uncertainty that permeated her movements, however small. She also smelled of fear. Whether it be from what she planned on doing or of him, he didn't know.

" _Subtle shaking of the legs, unusual breathing, increased heart-rate… obviously troubled."_ he thought.

Lucina looked back at him, his silence was... strange. Broken out of his analysis, the manakete's eyes landed on her own once more, softening as it did.

" _Reminds me of… ah, forget it."_

She raised her brow at his sudden change in demeanor, but decided not to openly question him.

"What do you plan on doing when you meet him? Actually no, don't tell me." Weide said.

The future exalt wanted to raise her voice in protest, but realised that he likely already knew her intentions.

"Do you truly believe that he is the cause of your future?" he asked.

"...Yes." she replied.

"You hesitated, but that isn't as important. Are you sure that this is the only way?"

His question echoed within her mind, replaced with her own. It would be a lie to say she didn't have second thoughts about her eventual confrontation with the tactician.

" _My… thoughts on Robin do not matter. It won't soon, anyway. Besides, my feelings are… surface at best."_ she pondered.

" _...No. It was deeper. Much deeper than that."_

"It matters not." she replied openly.

"According to who? Naga? Chrom?"

He took a step forward, and looked at her closely.

"You?"

Her silence didn't answer his question, but he had an inclination of what it would be.

"How would Chrom feel about all this?"

This time he paced around in-front of her, his boots crunched along the grass as he did.

"The Shepherds? Morgan?"

Lucina stayed silent at his questioning. She had no reply for them, fearing that if she did, it would make it worse.

A small pause passed before he continued.

"You?"

Lucina blinked.

"Me?"

"Yes, princess. You. How do you feel about what you plan to do?"

Weide's question sounded earnest, leaving Lucina speechless at their sudden heart-to-heart.

"…I'm fine."

"You're lying."

"My feelings are pointless." she argued.

"You, are about to murder a man. In cold blood. I'd say your feelings matter a lot." he shot back.

Lucina bristled at the word 'murder'. It wasn't that she didn't know what she was planning to do, far from it. It was the fact that the situation was being laid before her so plainly made her further realise that she wasn't as sure as she believed.

The future exalt said nothing in response, and Weide didn't push it any further.

"Listen, princess. Whatever words I say will not prevent you from acting out on your understandable fears. Family… is just that important…"

Weide trailed off again, his eyes closed as he did.

"...All the more reason to make sure you yourself are sure of this." he stated.

Lucina's breathing decreased, as did her unease. His words alone broke through the barrier she put up. She looked at her sacred blade, loosening the grip upon it a little.

"I will not attempt to dissuade you in your mission, nor will I prevent it. However, I will ask you this."

Weide took one last look at her, making eye contact before he continued.

"Do you trust in Falchion?" he asked.

Confusion set in. Lucina had never heard of putting her trust in a weapon, much less that of the sacred blade, unless it was from Owain and his theatrics. Her mouth was agape and before she can reply the manakete walked past her.

Weide stood still after a few steps from her back, and tilted his head, looking at her at the corner of his eyes.

"...For whatever awaits at the end of this path, I pray you do."

He left her alone, trying to piece together the entire conversation. The future exalt didn't even know that she was somehow out of breath and sucked air through nose forcibly.

This was the most she had ever spoken to Weide, and maybe even more than any of the other Shepherds aside from the other manaketes. His entire existence was a mystery to her, but right now that didn't matter.

Taking one last look at amber sky, she built back up her resolve and continued in her search.

-[-]-

Meanwhile, Chrom was conducting his own search for his other half, alongside Frederick who insisted he accompanied him. The exalt had asked if this was because of his distrust towards Robin, and his knight acknowledged that it was part of it, but not the main reason.

"I want to confirm myself where his loyalties lie. For what it's worth, milord, I do hope that it remains unchanged." was what he told Chrom.

With a small groan, Chrom continued his search. Not only was Robin missing, his daughter was also nowhere to be seen. He had trusted Lucina, but he hoped whatever was eating away at the back of his mind was just nerves.

"Milord."

Chrom looked at Frederick, who stared at a figure off in the distance. They were making their way towards camp. At first, the exalt thought that it was Robin, before noticing the colour of the cloak being in stark contrast to the tactician's.

Chrom nodded before he decided to approach the man.

"Weide."

The manakete in question stared at Chrom and then at Frederick before he replied.

"Exalt. Knight."

"Do you know of Robin's whereabouts? Also, have you seen Lucina?" Chrom asked.

Weide shrugged.

"No, I have no clue where your tactician is. As for the princess, she was looking for him." he replied, solemnly.

Whatever that feeling Chrom had was slowly made stronger, and he feared what it meant. Lucina looking for Robin wasn't that hard to imagine. The two were fairly close, and Lissa at some point even joked that they may have even been courting. Chrom brushed it off at first, but became much more comfortable at the prospect of his best friend taking care of his daughter. He trusted him the most out of everyone.

However, he remembered the manakete's tone and decided to inquire on her location.

"You said that Lucina was looking for Robin?" Chrom questioned.

"Yes, though I believe her intentions are strictly different yours." Weide reaffirmed.

Frederick the Wary narrowed his eyes at the comment.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

The manakete crossed his arms and looked behind him.

"The way she gripped Falchion so tightly should be a good indicator." he replied.

Gears began to move within Chrom's mind as he pieced together the claim. Suddenly, he turned towards Frederick, panicking.

"Frederick we-!"

"Whatever you plan to say to her won't matter, Exalt." the manakete interrupted.

Chrom looked back at Weide, and glared.

"How can you be sure of this? What do you mean it won't matter!?"

The entire camp was now aware of their argument and many decided to see what was causing such a huge commotion. Murmurs had spread around the three and Chrom was failing to keep his emotions in check.

"Exactly what I meant. The princess plans to pass judgement on your tactician." Weide stated.

"And you let her go knowing this!?"

Without taking his eyes off of Weide, Chrom was seriously thinking of punching him. Before he could, the manakete continued.

"She must face this trial, alone. Her resolve is soon to be tested and, for her sake, I hope she succeeds."

Chrom's glare turned from anger to confusion.

"Trial? What do you-"

Any words that Chrom planned to say was cut off by a large pillar of yellow that pierced into the sky, the sound alone causing tremors. A thunderclap followed the beam, and birds can be seen flying away from its direction. His heart dropped immediately at the sight.

"Gods…" Chrom weakly said.

"...and so it ends." Weide quietly stated.

Ignoring his comment, Chrom bolted in the direction of the magic's source, his mind racing in a cacophony of thoughts. Frederick followed, and so did the rest of the Shepherds, fearing an attack was taking place.

The manakete stood alone. Memories had once again replayed within his head, reminding him that everything, like his past, was fleeting and would soon come to an end.

* * *

Greetings, I hope you enjoyed this one-shot.

Now, you may be asking why it is a one-shot and with such a large amount left unsaid, why that is the case. The reason for this is because it is a sort of 'in medias res' which I plan to turn into a larger narrative eventually. Given my habits, I doubt that it would be soon, but the idea was still fresh in my mind when I started this work and perhaps it isn't that far off.

You may be wondering:

Who is Weide? What is his purpose? Where did he come from?

Why, does he exist?

To put it simply, he's an Original Character that I have plans for, and I hope I can properly tell his tale. If you peruse my account page, I'm sure it's already hinted as to who he is, but there are still numerous questions left unsaid. Ones I plan to answer in the future, hopefully.

On to another topic of discussion, there is an obvious change in some of the established lore/world, especially that concerning Falchion. I plan to explain this in the future through my writing.

Aside from that, thank you for reading this, it was a pleasure.

-EverchangingArcadia

P.S. Weide is pronounced 'vide', for those who are unaware.

Edit: 2/4/2019 Some fixes to grammar and sentences that didn't make sense. I also realise the first part of the story right before Lucina's introduction is unnecessary, so I plan to remove it at a later date.


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